This is What I'm Good At
by Dragxn Defender
Summary: Modern AU. Full summary inside because it's too long to fit here. Please read and review so I can improve on it. No flames pls! Includes swearing and Hiccstrid (although not at the beginning) Genres would be adventure (as stated below), romance (for Hiccstrid), hurt/comfort (for some parts) and...yeah... I'm gonna stop blabbering now. Enjoy!
1. I Don't Belong

**Hiccup's POV**

"Hey, Useless!" came the obnoxious voice of my cousin, Stan Jorgenson, or as he prefers being called, Snotlout, as he came up to me as I made my way off the field. Why he gave himself such a stupid name remains a mystery, but, it's still not as bad as mine.

I'm Henry Haddock. The Third. ... Okay, you caught me. I'm Hiccup. Henry is my real name, but... because our village, Berk, lives under old Viking tradition, as a "runt" of the litter, I was given the name Hiccup as my nickname.

Sad, huh?

That's not even the worst part... Wanna know what's worse than my name? Keep reading.

"What is it, Sta-" He gave me a death glare. "Uh, I-I mean, Snotlout?" I stuttered. He walked up to me menacingly. "Close call, Useless. You _do_ remember the last time you called me that name was bad for you, right?" he chuckled. _'Everyday's terrible because of assholes like you, but go on...'_ I wanted to say, but I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from doing so.

I cleared my throat, "What do you want?" He grinned and motioned to something. "Ya see, I'd forgotten to bring my wallet for my lunch, so..." Suddenly out came two of his jock friends from either side behind me.

Did I forget to mention my cousin was captain of the football team? Yeah... How lucky am I, right?

"You owe me some money to buy my lunch," he said, knocking his fist to the palm of his hand. "So instead of giving you mercy and letting you simply _give_ the money to me..." He'd trailed off, and before I could register anything, I was on my back, and a kick was aimed at my abdomen, way lower than I wanted it to be. I curled up into a ball and rolled onto my side. _'Ow...'_

"Pull him up," he told his goons. I felt two pairs of beefy arms grab hold of my thin, gangly ones and pull me up. I was panting, trying to stop the pain in my gut. Then I felt a stinging feeling in my head. Specifically where my left eye was. That was sure to leave a mark... A black eye for a week at the most.

I felt a hand shove into my front pocket and pull out my wallet. "Do you mind? No?" His grin remained plastered on his face, and I wanted to badly to see it turn into a look of regret. Sadly, I saw nothing. Nothing but hate, and remorse. "I guess not," he said. He opened my wallet and looked through the pouches and the zipper at the very last pocket. He took everything out; my coins, bills, he even got out my dad's calling card and my credit card. I mean, sure it has a lot of value on it but there's nothing he can use it on here on campus anyway.

 _'Oh shit, wait a sec!'_ "Put the card back! Please!" I begged. That card had something taped to the back of it. _'Shit, don't look at it! I should've taken it off! Gah, I'm so stupid!'_

"Oh, what have we here?" he asked joyously, turning the card over. I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a paper behind that card that held something... Something which, up to now, I have no idea why I wrote it down and _stuck it there_ in the first damn place.

It was Astrid Hofferson's phone number... Yeah, her. My life-long crush, who never noticed me. If you're asking how I have her number then, let's just say we were assigned as partners for a project. She wasn't at all happy about it and just gave me her number so that she'd avoid as much physical contact with me as possible. How can I be sure? She told me so.

* * *

 _ **Flashback; two months earlier**_

 _Science! One of the very few subjects I enjoy! Why? There's no Snotlout, no twins, no bullies in my class... Frank was in my class. Frank Ingerman. Though for some reason, people called him Fishlegs. He was a friend of mine when we were younger, but because people started picking on him for being five feet away from me most days, I decided he should stop hanging out with me because I didn't want him to go through what I was going through._

 _It was for the best, after all._

 _Oh, and did I mention Astrid was in my class? Oh, I did? Sorta? Technically? In a way?_

 _Sorry. I'm just hyped every time I'm in the same room as her even though I know she'll never notice me._

 _The teacher walked into the room. Miss Emerald. She was a new teacher, just started this year, but she handled it like a pro. One time, a student played basketball in the classroom, DURING study hours, and so Miss Emerald went over to the student and snatched the ball, walked to the front of the room, held the ball in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, and stabbed the ball. I have to tell you, no eyes have ever gone wider that day._

 _"Now that I have your attention, which I'm hoping won't vanish anytime soon," she'd started, "Why don't I start by introducing to you all your project for this semester?"_

 _Moans and groans of disappointment were heard all around. It was just me and Fishlegs who didn't. And, surprisingly, when I looked her way, Astrid wasn't either. I guessed then she took her studies very seriously._

 _Don't ask me why I looked her way!_

 _"Relax. This is a pair project. So at least the burden isn't all on just you. You need to make a remote-controlled car that, as much as possible, runs on any green energy. Solar, and the like," she continued. Jeez, what way with words... Although after that, the groans did die down, just a bit._ 'That's what I thought,' _I said to myself._

 _"But!" Oh no, here it comes... "I will personally be the one to assign your partners."_

 _And the return of the groans... But among them, I heard so many whispers._

 _"Ugh, don't put me with Useless..."_

 _"I was his partner last time. Don't give me him again. It was bad enough in our Lit. assignment."_

 _"Who the hell wants to be partners with a runt?"_

 _And then came the one that hurt me the most..._

 _"Please don't assign me to be with Henry," Astrid whispered. You know what was worse? She sits just in front of me, to my right. I was right there._

 _It hurt. Still does..._

 _As she called out the pair names, I anxiously waited for mine to be called, my nails digging into my table._

 _"Astrid and Henry! You two are partners for this project, due a month from now."_

 _All heads swiveled to me. All of them bore faces of disgust, some even snickering because they knew Astrid would beat me to a pulp. But the one face I tried my best to avoid, but failed, was hers. She was furious. She was angry, and a scowl was on her beautiful features._

 _"Stay away from me," she mouthed. I just nodded in sadness and defeat._

* * *

After that period ended, she shoved a piece of paper at my face. It was her number. She said only use it to work on the project. She said that afterwards, I should delete the number from my phone and burn the paper.

Of course, I didn't listen to that part.

We got the highest score among everyone in class in that project. She was happy about that, but still loathed me.

What did I do to deserve this...?

Oh right... I was born...

"Why do you have my girl's number, Useless?" I heard Snotlout say, through gritted teeth. I hated how he called Astrid "his girl" because she definitely is not "his girl", and never was. I hate it when the jocks refer to Astrid or any other girl as "their girl" or what, because they're not damn objects! They're people with their own free will and rights!

"Don't you dare call her 'your girl', Snotlout! She's not yours! She's not anyone's," I snapped. It felt good to stand up for myself and for Astrid, even if I knew what was to come.

"Oh, would you shut your mouth!?" he yelled, punching me again in the face. I felt my nose crack and tasted the blood that dripped down from it land in my open, panting mouth. My lower lip was also split open, and blood dripped down from there. "Don't you tell me what to do, you runt!"

I didn't care that he was practically murdering me right now. I just cared for Astrid, no matter how much she hurt me.

"Snotlout, would you just stop?"

I froze. She was here? She was watching this unfold this whole time?

Snotlout turned around, and there she was, with her gym bag dropped on the ground and her sweaty face irritated. His face just turned from anger towards me to flirty and seductive towards her as he walked over to her, bits of my blood dripping from his hand. "Hey babe," he started, "What are you doing here? Watching me beat up Useless here as your knight in shining armor?" He threw his arm around her shoulder, and all I did was watch as his goons still held me in place.

Her face darkened, and she shook her head. "Get off me, Snotlout..." she growled. "Now why would I do that?" Snotlout challenged. "Obviously, you enjo-." He never got to finish, since Astrid grabbed his arm which was around her shoulders, twisted it in a very painful angle, threw him over, and kicked him where the sun don't shine.

I winced, feeling that pain. But at the same time, I was happy that she was actually helping me, even if it was mostly herself.

"Get out of here, now. Before I call Stoick," she told him.

Stoick was my father, and a very close friend of our school principal. He was also the mayor - or the chief, as we still call it - of our village. Now if you ask me how the son of the chief of your village gets picked on, beat up, and bullied by everyone, even his own cousin, you clearly don't know the difference between my father and me.

He's successful, I'm a failure. He's a leader, I'm a loser. He's huge, I'm a runt. He's bulky and strong, I'm lanky and weak. Whatever he is, I'm the complete opposite. I probably got more of my mother's side, but I never know, especially since she died in a car crash before I even got a chance to remember what she looked like.

I dropped to the ground, and I groaned. I coughed too, and I saw droplets of my blood splatter on the already red concrete track I lay on. My vision was swaying, but I could focus on Astrid walking over to me after watching Snotlout run off. I curled up into a ball, because my gut still hurt from where he kicked me there.

"I'm not gonna bother asking if you're alright because you obviously aren't," I heard her say, kneeling next to me. "You're weak, no offense." _'O...kay? She actually said "no offense" to me of all people?'_

"You should learn to fend for yourself now. Until then, I can't keep coming in to save your sorry ass."

I just nodded. She was right after all. I'm too weak to take care of myself. I'm freaking 18 and I can't even do three bench presses!

That's gonna change soon. I'm gonna make sure it will.

If I don't belong here... I'll make sure I go somewhere I know I'm good at.


	2. Let Me Go

_**A/n: Hey again! So here's chapter 2 of my book, "This is What I'm Good At". Hope ya enjoy it! :)**_

 _ **I might be a bit slower for the next chapter because exams are coming up, but oh whale... ... No... No no, don't you da-. *screeches and dodges an axe thrown at her* I'm sorry, oka-! *dodges five other axes* I SAID I WAS SORRY! *cries***_ _ **I hate exams... ;-;**_

 _ **Oh, and what are your thoughts on the cover? I made it, so...**_

 _ **Yeah! And, as promised, shout-outs!**_

 _ **Dante Stormcloud: Yeah, I know right? XD What's that all about?**_

 ** _gravityfallsforev: Here's your update, friend!_**

 ** _Red-Knight: We'll see ;) Soon enough._**

 ** _BloodshotJW: Well, hopefully this is enough to suffice? :/_**

 ** _Lightclaw's Shadow: No need to wait any longer, my friend! Here's chapter 2!_**

 ** _Rhoynar: Oh, I will surely continue this!_**

 ** _This chap may or may not have some feels in them. Honestly, I'm crying while writing. Does that mean something? I'm not good at writing some scenes, so... Yeah, I'm just gonna let you guys review what you think about this chap._**

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

The minute I got home, my face cleaned and dried from the blood, I ran up to my room and slammed the door shut.

My father wasn't home. Of course he wasn't. He's almost never home when I am. He arrives late when I'm asleep and leaves earlier before I wake. That's our tradition. Meaning to say, I almost never see him, save for Sundays.

Good thing it's Tuesday, especially in this situation. I don't want him home now, especially for what I was about to do.

I grabbed a duffel bag from my closet. I only used it whenever I went on camping trips with my father. That hasn't happened for a while now... It's probably been around, what, three years since our last one? Four? Yeah, that...

"Wait, Gobber..." I mumbled. I can't just leave without at least visiting Gobber today. _'I'll just pass by for a while. Who knows how long I'll be gone?'_ I thought. Might as well.

I threw the duffel bag on my bed and covered in with my pillows and blanket. I sleep messily so if ever my dad came home early, he'd just think I'm the lump on my bed.

I left my room and ran down the stairs, shoving my phone in my pocket. Grabbing my leather jacket with two green stripes running down both sleeves, I exited my house and got on my motorbike, revved up the engine, and drove off towards Gobber's place: A bar he calls "The Forge".

* * *

As I arrived at the bar, I slowed my bike to a stop. I dropped the stand and got off it, letting it lean on itself on the ground. I walked over to the entrance with my hands in my pockets. I leaned on the door with my back and pushed it open that way, spinning around and walking inside when the door reached its limit. The chimes that hung above the door twinkled its familiar tune. "Knock, knock. I'm home," I called. I heard the familiar _tap, clunk_ patterned sound of his boot and wooden peg on the wooden mahogany-glossed floor. "Hey, Henry!" he replied, coming over and grabbing me in a large bear hug. I winced from the pain I endured earlier, but I hope he didn't notice it. Luckily, he didn't.

"It's been a while since ya last visited here, boyo!" He clapped my shoulder. "How's it been?" he asked. I shrugged. "Holding up," I replied nonchalantly.

No matter how close I am to Gobber, I just can't tell him what I've been going through.

"That's good to hear," he told me. "Come on, yer just in time to work your shift."

 _'Oh... Right, forgot about that...'_

I had the thought of asking Gobber if he could hire me for a part-time job here at The Forge as a waiter. My shifts were every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I worked from four-thirty to eight, so I guess I'm here for a while...

* * *

Business is kinda slow, that much I'll admit for today's shift. Not much people were coming and going today. For the past two hours I'd already been here, only around twenty-five people came and went. Probably due to the fact that it's very hot outside and people are too lazy to get out of their homes. I'd be, too. Although it was cooler earlier... Either way, once the clock strikes between six-thirty or seven, this place'll be packed.

I heard the chimes above the door sound, signifying that a customer or two had entered. I was just looking down at the table I was wiping clean, with my waiter's uniform on, which was basically a combination of my white long-sleeved polo, my black jeans, and my black Converse. I also sported a dark blue tie and a silver name tag with 'Henry' printed across it. "Hey, welcome to The Forge, what can I ge-." I froze.

Astrid! She's here! Does she always come here?

She was staring at me with wide eyes. Neither of us moved for what seemed like ten minutes, but it was really only ten seconds. I was snapped out of my trance by the sound of someone hitting their table to get my attention. I glanced at Astrid for another brief second, before making my way over to the customer.

* * *

I saw her sitting hunched over at the bar counter, tracing the design patterns with her fingers. I walked over to her and sat on the barstool next to her. A pretty bold move in my case, actually. Neither of us uttered a word and just stared at the counter for the longest time. Then she spoke. "So... you work here...?" she asked. I looked up at her, but she still hadn't lifted her head. I nodded. "Yeah... Not the best job out there, being an eighteen-year old already working at a _bar,_ of all places. But it does pay well. Plus, Gobber's like a father-figure to me." I told her. I heard her hum in response.

I mustered up the courage to spark a conversation with her. "So..." I started with the same thing she had. "How long have you been coming here? To The Forge?" I asked. She shrugged. "A month, I guess? I don't really remember how long it's been since I started to show up here," she said. I nodded. "Why, though?" I questioned further. She sighed and shook her head lightly. I was about to tell her to forget I asked, before she spoke. "I'd been having some family problems lately. Usually, I just come here to try and forget about them without my parents finding out. Although, sometimes... it doesn't help me at all..."

 _'Why was she telling me all this...? And how..._ Why _is she actually comfortable with telling me this?'_

"I bet you're wondering why I'm actually comfortable with telling you this, aren't you?" she asked me. I stared at her, surprised that she knew what I was thinking. "Hmph... Guess you thought I was such a perfect girl, huh...? That I had the best life in the world, and had everything I wanted. But the truth is, that... I'm not perfect. My family's broken, and been that way, ever since my brother died three years ago."

Ah... I remember her brother. Jason Hofferson. He was a great person. Three years older than the two of us. Most of the time, if he saw me getting picked on in the school corridor, he'd come up to me and get the bullies off my back. Now that he was gone, well... no one was there to come to my rescue anymore.

Damn... It's as if he died just recently... I was there to witness his death.

* * *

 ** _Flashback; three years earlier_**

 _I was cornered by Snotlout and his goons again. Great... Damn it all... "What's the matter, Useless?" he taunted me. "Scared? Need that guy Jason to come in and save you again?" He just laughed at me mockingly._ _"Bad news for you... He ain't coming to save you this time."_

 _I was just sitting on the swing in the town's park, when Snotlout came up with his two jock friends. They saw me sitting there and started to tease and mock me, eventually backing me into the wall._

 _"What's the matter, huh? Huh!?" he mocked me._

 _"Leave me alone, Stan!" I yelled at him. His face turned red and scrunched up in anger as he grabbed my shoulder and shoved me downwards. "Never call me that! You runt!" He told his goons to pick me up and hold me still. "Never call me that name, you got that!? You got that, runt? Useless? Hiccup!?"_

 _Across the street was Jason. I saw him walking, and he looked my way, right when I didn't want him to._

 _"Henry!?" he called. He turned and prepared to run across the street to my aid again, if necessary. "Let go of him and leave, Snotlout!" he yelled. "Just try and make me, Hofferson! You know what'll get me to stop? Let me date your sister! Or else nothing good will happen right now!" Snotlout yelled back, challenging Jason._

 _I could see his face turning red even from across the street. "No! Get away from him, Jorgenson!" He didn't check the road before he ran across._

 _Meaning to say... he didn't see the incoming bus until the horn blew at the last second._

 _But it wasn't fast enough. It didn't stop in time._

 _And neither did Jason..._

 _"JASON!"_

 _Snotlout's jocks dropped me as the three of them ran off. I got up from the ground and ignored the pain as I rushed up to Jason's laying, unmoving body. The bus driver had gotten off the bus and so had a few passengers, yet some remained inside, mostly mothers trying to stop their children from seeing what had just happened._

 _"Jason?" I called right as I got to him. He was limp. There was a gash on his forehead and blood flowing from it, staining his blonde hair. His arm was bent in such an angle that, up to now, I have no idea how to describe. "Jason?" I tried again. There was no response. His eyes remained closed._

 _"S-someone call an ambulance..." I started crying. "Call an ambulance!" I heard a few shuffling noises behind me and someone talking to an operator, before I heard a faint voice. "H-hen... Henry..." I looked down. It was Jason. His eyes were cracked open, but instead of seeing his familiar blue eyes, I saw dull, pale eyes that held no life in them. "Jason? Jason, you're gonna be alright, okay? You have to be alright!"_

 _I saw his head shake, and I also saw him struggle to do so. "Protect my sister for me... Okay...?" he choked out. I nodded. "Y-yes, yes, I'll protect her for you. B-but you have to live! Come on, Jason!"_

 _He smiled faintly."You're the strongest person I know..." His head lolled to the side as he said that. "Protect her for me..." was the last thing he said before he completely stopped moving. And breathing._

 _Nothing._

 _Lifeless._

 _Dead._

 _He was dead._

 _The only person who stood up for me and protected me... is dead..._

 _I couldn't believe what had happened. Everything was moving so slowly, and yet everything that moved was a blur. I couldn't hear any sound other than my ragged breathing. Time stopped, yet everything kept moving. I heard the faint sound of sirens echoing, and saw a blur of people put Jason on a stretcher and carry him into the back of an ambulance. I stood up and watched. Watched, as my friend, my first friend, my last friend, be taken away from me._

 _"Jason..."_

 ** _Flashback ends_**

* * *

So, you see? I'm practically the main reason why he's dead. He died trying to protect me. Because I was weak... I was too weak to save myself! AND I COULDN'T SAVE HIM!

I felt something crack. I looked down. My hand was on top of a broken shot glass, and some shards were stuck to the palm of my hand. It bled a bit, but it was nothing compared to what I felt.

"Henry, are you alright?" Astrid asked. I'd forgotten she was here. She doesn't know that I was the reason Jason was dead. I don't know how she'll react, what she'll think of me if I told her. "I-I-I'm fine. I just..." I heard a throat being cleared and looked up to see Gobber peering his head out the employee's office. "Yer gonna have to pay for that, ya know," he said. I nodded and turned back to Astrid when he left. "You look... like you're about to cry," she told me. I blinked my eyes and rubbed them with my clean hand, sniffing and looking away from her.

"N-no... No I'm not," I said.

"Yeah, you are." She looked ready to punch me if I didn't say what was on my mind

 _'How the hell could I possibly tell her the truth? This is the closest I've ever been to her, and this may very well ruin whatever progress I'd made!'_ I thought, refusing to look at her. "Henry... Tell me..." she pleaded.

 _'Wait, is she... pleading...? I've never seen her plead before.'_

"Uh... I-it's just that... I do-on't know how to tell you... what I want to..." I choked.

"Try me," she said.

I took a deep breath and sighed, before looking straight into her eyes and speaking in a voice wherein only she could hear, and no one else. "You remember the day your brother died. You know how. But the thing is... you don't why, right?" I asked her. She nodded in reply. "You see... I was... there, when he died. I saw how. I saw why."

She gasped lightly, but it wasn't enough to draw anyone's attention. I saw a few tears peeking out of her eyes as I continued. "Your brother... H-he was pretty much, the only person who stood up for me. Wh-who protected me against Snotlout for most of my life. A-and one day, he just...

"He was across the street when he saw Snotlout beating me. S-so he ran. H-he didn't bother to check both sides of the road and just ran to my rescue. B-but then... he wasn't fast enough, and the bus that was driving down that road, just..." I sighed and felt my own tears start to well up right as Astrid's started falling. "He died... trying to sa-ave me, Astrid..." I choked on my words. "I was... too weak to protect myself that day... A-and I was too weak to save him..."

I heard the barstool she sat on scrape the floor, and turned very slowly to see her taking slow steps backwards, her hand over her mouth. "Astrid, I-I-I'm s-so so-."

"He died because of you...?" she croaked. I nodded and stood up, turning towards her. "Astrid-."

"Don't!" she hissed. "Don't come near me..."

I stood still. I'd expected this kind of reaction, but it still hurt. So much...

She turned her back to me and walked as fast as she could without attracting that much attention to herself until she was out of the bar. I faced downwards, and noticed a little dark spot on the ground I stood on. It took me a moment to realize that my tears had started falling. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I had to get out of here.

I left the bar, hopped on my bike, and rode off. I sped down the street towards my house and skidded the bike into its garage. I hopped off the bike and took off my helmet while running into the house and slamming the door shut.

I ran up to my room and dug out my duffel bag from underneath the pile of pillows and blankets. I opened it up and continued to throw stuff in; my skateboard, my clothes, my sketchpad, a towel, a blanket. I cushioned my laptop between the layers of my blanket and flipped the lid of the bag, zipping it shut. It was then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, unlocked it, and looked at the notification. It was from my dad. I tapped on it and the messaging screen popped up.

 _Hiccup, I'm sorry I'm not home to see you again. Hopefully though, you enjoyed your shift today?_

 _I'm sorry to say this. Truly, I am. But I won't be home for a while. Something's come up, and I have to hop two towns to get to it. I didn't want this, and I'm sure you don't either._

 _I'll be leaving first thing in the morning. I'll do my best to be back as soon as I can._

 _I love you, Son. I hope you know that._

 _Love, Dad._

Oh, dang it... What... do I do now...? Dad's message... Is it true? I don't know...

But then my face contorted into anger. If he loves me, then why doesn't he tell me himself and not through technology? Why hadn't he been there when I needed to talk to someone? Why hadn't he been there to protect me the way a father should!?

I've had it. I tossed my duffel bag in my closet and shut it, heading to the bathroom and taking a shower. Once I got out, I put on the clothes I'd use tomorrow morning, after Dad leaves.

I'm gonna let him go... I'm gonna let go of Gobber, Astrid, my father, my schoolmates, my bullies, my entire town.

Now they just have to let _me_ go.

* * *

 ** _A/n: Alright, so there's the chap! Sorry I wasn't able to update this earlier. Something went up with FFN, and I couldn't log in. :/ Welp, least, from what I know, I ain't the only one that experienced that._**

 ** _Oh, and I won't be able to update any of my stories next week due to the fact that semestral finals are coming up. And I gotta focus on them. Don't worry though! Once Friday's exams are over next week, I'll be on for sure!_**

 ** _So there's that! Don't forget to fave, follow, and review!_**


	3. Where to Next?

**A/n: OK, SO I BASICALLY WENT ON A VERY LONG, UNANNOUNCED HIATUS AND I'M SO, SO SORRY FOR THAT!**

 **I've had a very busy life so far, and I'm sorry for making you all wait. Combine that with writer's block, and you've got the recipe for a terrible hiatus.**

 **I'll make this an extra long chapter to (hopefully) make up for it.**

 **Also, please excuse the whole military writing (i.e. guns, codes, etc) because I don't exactly know them.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. Those rights belong to DreamWorks and Cressida Cowell, much as I wish I had evem a few of those rights.**

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

I woke up. The sun was barely out, and only a few rays of its warm orange-yellow light peered through the blinds and into my room, illuminating my usually white ceiling. Now I saw the color orange above me and the very faint specks of dust that flew through the air.

I got up out of bed and checked the time.

 _5:30AM._

 _'Wow, that's earlier than I normally get up for school.'_

My clothes, which were pretty much a plain white t-shirt and black jeans, were slightly wrinkled and folded, and I'll be honest, it was slightly uncomfortable. But then, just stretching it pretty much straightens it out just fine.

I went into the bathroom to give my hair a quick brush, and wash my face. I left the bathroom after wiping my face dry, then sat down on my bed to put on my black Converse, packing two more pairs of shoes into the duffel bag. I looked around the room. So many memories in this room. I'd been living here practically my whole life. To just leave...

I shook my head. I'm not backing out now. I've made my choice.

I grabbed my duffel bag and threw it over my shoulder. Grabbing my black cap off the side table and my leather jacket off the hook on my door, I carefully peeked outside.

Empty.

Good.

I looked back at my room again. I looked back at the pictures that hung on my wall, my books that stood on my bookshelves, my movie posters of my all-time favorite movies, my collectibles my dad had gotten me the past few Christmases, my study desk, my bed... I'll be leaving so many things behind.

I sighed and looked down. _'No turning back...'_ I thought, before leaving the room and closing the door shut. I tiptoed down the stairs - better safe than sorry - and out the door that led to the garage, where my bike was.

I brought the bike outside and put the duffel bag on the back of my bike, securing it with a rope, before putting on my jacket and tucking my cap inside as I wore the helmet and revved up the engine.

I took one last look at the house I'd lived in my entire life. Then, I was off. I didn't look back. Not anymore.

* * *

My first stop was at a gym. If I wanted to find out what I'm good at, I want to at least be in shape for it.

I went in and walked towards the front desk, where I paid for a one-week session at first. I took my things inside, changed into a pair of black jogging pants with green stripes down the side, and a gray sweatshirt, and started my workout: a jog on the treadmill.

I went in a pattern, with the jog first, then cycling, then leg lifts, then jumping jacks... I did each of these fifteen minutes each (Of course, I had one-minute breaks in between the jumping jacks and leg lifts).

It was tiring... Okay, exhausting. That much I'll say. I repeated the cycle three times, which made up a three-hour workout. Not a bad workout for me in one day.

It was currently eleven-thirty, according to the gym's giant digital wall clock. I figured I was done for the day. So I went to the shower room, took a shower (Because, let's face it, I reek of sweat and oil right now), and changed into my clothes: A black round-neck t-shirt, a white jacket with two black stripes running down the sleeves, black jeans, and my everyday Converse. I gotta remind myself to get a new pair of shoes soon...

I left the gym with my bag slung over my shoulder, and took a look around the place I was in. It was a little part of the city. Not too many high-rising buildings, which I like, and not too many buildings in the first place. Seems calming. I could get used to this area.

I walked over to my bike, which was locked to a lamp post, and placed my duffel bag on the back. I unlocked my bike and shoved the lock in the compartment under my seat, and then got onto the seat, revved up the engine, and drove off. I checked my bike's fuel; it's been a while since I last refilled its tank. It seemed it was about to go empty soon, so I rode off to the nearest gas station, since I left all my containers of gasoline back at ho-... Back at the Haddock household.

* * *

I ran out of gas right as I arrived at the station. I stopped the bike and set its stand down near the gasoline pumps. I kept my helmet on - didn't want to risk any chance of being recognized, not that it's likely. I grabbed the pump and opened the tank of my bike, pouring the gasoline in it. I filled it up to prepare for a long ride ahead.

My next stop after the gas station was at a small diner in the middle of the small town. _'This town seems so...retro,'_ I thought. It was quite cozy, and the people walking on the sidewalks seem kind and friendly as well.

I walked into the diner, my helmet still on my head. The inside was bustling with people chattering with one another, dishes being given to customers, piled together at the sink, and the oil sizzling on the burning pans on the stove. Though the tinted visor of my helmet made it a bit difficult to see clearly, I could still tell what everyone was wearing. I gotta say, I liked the 80's theme these people have going on. In fact, the entire town I was in seemed 80's-themed...

Old school town, I guess.

I took a seat at a booth table near the corner of the diner, and (albeit hesitantly) decided to remove my helmet.

I did so slowly, then placed it on the table. I picked up the menu that was placed on the table and held it in front of my face. I didn't want to risk so much as one word of my name.

A waitress came by a few moments later and asked what it was I wanted. I realized then that I'd been so focused on not being noticed by anyone, I'd forgotten to actually look at the items on the menu.

I'm such a genius...

"Oh, uh...do you mind coming back a bit later? I, uh, didn't decide yet," I told her. She just nodded with a small smile on her face, then went to a different table for the meantime.

I sighed, sinking into the chair. I blinked to focus on the menu in my hands.

Even the dishes here seemed so retro! Bacon and eggs, shortstack pancakes, pies, hashbrowns... And that's just the breakfast side of the menu! What else do I have to say?

My stomach grumbled at the sight of the displays on the menu. I decided I'd go with an item on the lunch menu, a cheeseburger with fries (if you'd consider that lunch, then it's lunch) and a glass of root beer.

I called the waitress over, and told her what I wanted. After which, she went over to the counter and relayed the order to the chef.

I decided to take my phone out for the time being. I unlocked it, and opened up the gallery. It was full of pictures, but not what you'd expect.

They were mostly pictures of me, beaten up. It was either I'd taken the photo of myself - of the damage - or my own cousin would've taken it while it was happening.

Why do I keep this, you may ask? Well, I use it as a reminder. A reminder that somehow, someday, I won't be this beaten up piece of filth anymore. A drive that reminds me that somehow, someday, I'd be so much stronger than who I am now.

The waitress arrived back at my table with my order, and gently placed it down in front of me. I admittedly jumped a little bit when her hand and the plate came into view. I must've been zoning out...

I mumbled a quick 'thanks', locked my phone, shoved it back in my pocket, and dug into my burger.

* * *

That was the best meal I'd had in a while, honestly. Mostly because the food I'd been eating while I still lived at my dad's place were either takeout or microwaved, when he wasn't home.

To have a taste of freshly cooked food is something I've missed.

I paid the bill and gave the waitress a tip, before I picked my helmet back up. I carried it under my arm and was about to walk out of the diner, when this figure caught my eye.

He looked strange. He wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black combat boots. He had black hair that was styled combed to the front (I literally have no idea what you call that style, because I have a shaggy mess of hair) that was covered by a black and green cap. He didn't match everyone else's 80's style. Then again, neither did I.

He must not be from here either...

He was eyeing me. His eyes were such a bright acidic green. They were mesmerizing. The tension between the two of us grew, and I gulped. He gestured me over, and I hesitantly made my way over to him.

He gestured me to sit, and sit I did. "Look, kid," he began. His voice was deep, and firm. "It's obvious we're both not from here. That's why I called you over.

"Name's Tony "Toothless" Lance. Don't laugh. Just call me Toothless," he finished, holding his hand out to shake. I blinked. This was a very...sudden situation.

I returned the handshake nonetheless. "You're Henry Haddock, aren't you?" he asked, not even raising his voice so loud. I widened my eyes. Okay, how did he know that!?

"Relax, kid. I'm not here to bring you back." At this, I sighed in relief. "I'm here to take you with me." And...again with the confusion.

I tilted my head and furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What do you mean?" I asked. He glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned in closer. I did the same, so I could hear him better.

"Listen up, we've been receiving intel about a group of terrorists plotting to take control of the country, and take a guess where they'll start raiding."

It took a moment for me to process this, but when I did, I widened my eyes. "Wait, how'd you know I-?" He cut me off. "We've been paying attention," he simply stated.

"They're going to start with your own hometown, Henry. As much as I know you hate it there, how much the people there tormented you, it's still your home," he finished.

"I can't go back!" I whisped-yelled. "If I do, my dad won't ever let me out of the house again, my cousin will call me a coward for running away, they'll torment me even more!"

"Not if you're a trained soldier they won't," he butt in. I just stared. "Look. I'm part of a private army formed even without your father's knowledge. You know why that is? Because we've been meaning to take you as a recruit one day. We knew he wouldn't let us.

"You've got potential. I've read so many stories of kids who don't get up after being beaten, but you do. You're strong inside. It's our job to show everyone that strength.

"Our boss sees a soldier in you," he told me. "He sees someone who'll do what's right, and get off his ass on the battlefield just to fix the mess that's happened."

This was a lot to take in. Really, it was. On one hand, if I go back, soldier or no, I can't change how the people will see me. On the other, if I do take this, and I succeed, I could possibly finally be accepted into that place.

But...what path to take?

I knew just which path.

I looked Toothless dead in the eyes, grinned, and told him, "Sign me up."

* * *

I followed Toothless on my bike as he drove his own, down the streets. We both had our helmets on, so we both hoped I wouldn't get confused if ever a group of bikers were to show up.

I followed him as he led me to what looked like an abandoned motel. I tilted my head when it came into view.

We parked our bikes in front of the motel, placed the stands down, got off, and took off our helmets. I stared at the building, then at Toothless. "Uh, and...what are we doing here exactly?" I asked.

Toothless grinned. "We're full of surprises," he just said. With that, he opened the door that supposedly led to a bedroom.

But it so wasn't a bedroom.

If I could describe each and every detail, I could, but there were so many things to look at. The gray concrete walls, marines in dark camo uniforms, a gun range with, strangely, no targets in sight, and a gun rack, with a wide array of guns to choose from.

I gaped. This was a good looking place. They'd taken down the walls that divided the rooms - just leaving columns for support - and turned the entire place into a gun range. But it's strange... All these marines were shooting, but...I didn't see the targets anywhere.

"If you're impressed by the range, just imagine what the actual headquarters looks like," Toothless commented.

He led me over to a gun rack and handed me two guns: a Glock 43 semi-automatic handgun, and a Colt LE901 rifle.

I gulped as I took hold of the handgun, as Toothless placed the rifle on the table behind the range. I'll be honest, this isn't the first time holding a gun. My dad's made me take up gun defense when I was younger. It's just that...it's been years since I last held one, so...let's say I'm a bit worried that I'll embarrass myself in front of these other marines.

"Go on up to a station, put on the goggles, and earmuffs. I'll set up your targets," Toothless told me. I did so, picking the station at the very end, near the wall. There was at pair of some strange-looking goggles there, and earmuffs. I put them on, then glanced at Toothless in the booth.

I gave him a confused stare, and he just grinned, then gestured for me to turn around and hold the gun up. I did so. Still no targets.

And then they were there. The goggles. HUD goggles. They provided holographic targets only the wearer could see.

That is pretty awesome.

I aimed and fired at each target, which was a holographic figure of an armed soldier. They either ran towards me, side to side, or stayed still and aimed at me, as if it were at real battle.

I shot each of them, some in the side, some were headshots, some straight through the chest. A few bullets would make it to the leg of the target, and they'd fall down, injured, but not out, so I'd have to finish them off.

Next I practiced with the Colt (And yes, I put the handgun on safety lock). The recoil each time I pulled the trigger hurt my shoulder, but I was still good enough to finish off all the targets my HUD threw at me.

When I was done, I took the earmuffs off, then the goggles. I put the gun in its safety lock and placed it back on the table. Toothless was there behind the booth, grinning and giving me a thumbs up.

"Alright, looks like you can handle a gun," he commented. "Professionally if I may add. You didn't miss a single target."

I shrugged in response. "So..." I grinned at him.

"Where to next?"

* * *

 **A/n: So...I hope this was ok enough as an apology? Fave, follow, and review!**

 **Oh and please share with some friends if you think they'd enjoy this ;)**

 **-Azriel**


	4. Night Fury Squad

**A/n: I'm hoping to get this story a bit quicker instead of 6 month intervals (I don't even count...), but the only way I can do that is by dimming down the details. I hope you all don't mind me doing that.**

 **Also, I'd just like you guys to know, this is solely for the HTTYD category only, even if a few names here may not be. ;)**

 **Disclaimer yadda yadda yadda you know what it means.**

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

I'd been training here for about a month and three weeks (I've still been going to the gym. I've paid for a 6-month membership, which would basically help me physically train for all this.) My dad's been texting and calling me for days since he'd returned home, but you know as well as I do that I couldn't respond.

Gobber's been doing the same. I mean, I respond a few times if Gobber is asking how I'm doing. I lie and say I'm sick and can't work, but I feel like that excuse won't last long.

Anyway, Toothless finally told me just what this private army is called; _but I'm not allowed to share._

I'm kidding you.

We're part of an elite group of individuals trained to protect the innocent people of the country, but away from the eyes and ears of the public.

Code name: The Dragon Nest.

I know, the description sounds so cliché, but, that's who we are.

I was placed under Toothless' wing, who's apparently Commander of the Night Fury squad. We aren't much of a large group, but we sure had a lot of the best fighters in the organization.

Other than Toothless and I (he allowed me the privilege to just refer to him as Toothless, unless it was serious) there were six others.

We had our personal hacker, black haired, brown-eyed Hiro Hamada. Rather a young kid, still just 16 years old. But, never underestimate his technological genius. In charge of all of our tech. He basically custom designed and made most, if not all, of our gadgets.

Next, a blue-eyed fiery red-haired 17-year-old, Merida Dunbroch. She's in charge of providing long-distance cover for when we need it. She was born, already skilled with absolutely incredible accuracy. She could snipe someone from a mile away, right between their eyes. Rather scary. I wouldn't recommend getting on her bad side.

Next, a blonde green-eyed 18-year-old with extremely long hair - let's say 70ft - and freckles on her face. She keeps her hair in a long braid, which, might I add, is still pretty long. It reaches her ankles when it's braided. I give you, Rapunzel Corona. She can come up with the best disguises to help us hide in plain sight. And she knock you out in the strangest way possible: whacking you with a frying pan. Don't ask why; it's something that Toothless had first-hand found out about her when he tried to recruit her...

Lesson learned: Don't sneak up on Rapunzel, _especially_ when she's baking.

Next, we have 22-year-old Jack Frost. Leader at heart, but with a wild fun side to him. White hair, blue eyes, pale skin. He was rather skinny, but don't underestimate him. He's strong all right. He could snap a thick branch in half after only ome strike. And for some reason, it's always so cold standing near him. We have no idea why.

We have 21-year-old Elsa Arendelle, with platinum blonde hair, and blue eyes. She almost looked like a female version of Jack. She was in charge of making sure everybody was in good condition to head out on a mission. She was bold and independent, but had a very soft and sensitive side for her sister, Anna Arendelle.

Anna was an 18-year-old, ginger-haired girl with bright green eyes and freckles adorning her face. There was a white streak in her hair, for what reason, we don't know. Although she says she was born with it. In charge of interrogating the captive suspects (I know, not something you'd have expected). She's very kind-hearted once you get to know her, but if you provoke her, she will hit you with whatever she has in her hands.

We may seem like a bunch of naïve children who don't know how the army works, or how war works...but I dare you to take us on in a fight. We won't disappoint.

* * *

"What's on the agenda today, Sir?" I asked Toothless as I walked into his office. He'd buzzed me, which he does every so often when I'm needed. Hiro was inside as well; he also helped Toothless and I when it came to planning.

Toothless spun to face me from his swivel chair near the back of the room, behind his desk. "Glad you made it here quick," he told me. "I was just about to buzz Jack instead."

I rolled my eyes. Sure, Jack may be the squad's second-in-command, but he didn't always take planning seriously. Either that, or I'd just spot so many flaws in what he'd come up with.

So, Toothless appointed Hiro and I to be the squad's planners.

"Hardy har har," I mocked, jokingly. Toothless grinned back. "So what did you need me for, boss?" I asked. That was when Toothless returned to his naturally serious face.

"Stormfly went undercover to check Berk out around a week ago, along with a couple of her squad mates. Do you remember that?" he asked, to which I nodded. Stormfly was also known as Commander Sarah Davidson, Commander of the Deadly Nader squad. She has the same number of soldiers in her squad as in ours. Fierce and intimidating; kinda reminds me of Astrid...

Oh, how I miss Astrid... How long have I gone without her? I didn't want to know...

Ah, let's get back to the topic at hand.

"She sent in something an hour ago, and the footage is something we thought you might need to see." He glanced at Hiro who was sitting on the chair opposite him as he said this, before he grabbed the remote on the table, aimed it at the giant screen at the side of the room, and switched it on.

A picture of a guy looking over his shoulder and wearing a fur jacket popped up on screen, his hood up and hands in his pocket. I don't blame him; it's nearing November, and Berk's snow and cold is _almost_ close to unbearable by that time without the proper gear.

"She'd found this guy on the first day, and had been scouring through the town the entire week, just observing him," Hiro chimed. "It seems that everywhere he walked, he'd glance behind him. He was hiding something.

"She'd managed to take a shot of his face. Although it was covered by a nose and mouth mask, I was able to analyze what facial features were shown and came up with this." At this, Hiro pulled out one of his custom-built tablets, which he used for many things: designing, tracking, analyzing, accessing, hacking, and basically anything.

He pulled up a mugshot photo of a guy that appeared to be in his late 20s, with a scar running through his right eye from his forehead to the corner of his dry, cracked, frowning lips. The details on the mugshot included his height of 6'3" and name.

"Jürgen Björn?" I squinted as I read the name, as I wasn't very sure how it was pronounced. It didn't sound like a Berkian I knew, and I am supposed to know everyone there.

"Arrested for drug trafficking and smuggling of illegal merchandise into Berk's ports, including weapons," Hiro listed. In case I forgot to mention, Berk is right next to the sea (another factor for why it's always so cold by this time). We run a large number of trading businesses with alot of the neighboring towns.

Hiro glanced over his shoulder at me as he continued, "Sentenced to 10 years in prison back in '08, but was released two years early for, as the records put it, 'changing his ways'. Rather a stupid reason for release considering they'd only observed that change in behavior just a little bit over a year before his release." Hiro closed the photo and details and shut the tablet down, before stowing it back in his side bag.

Toothless changed the slide on the screen to show Björn entering a rundown apartment, and what appeared to be the silhouette of another person's face by the doorway as he'd entered.

"Who's this one?" I asked. Toothless replied to me with a "we don't know" as Hiro explained. "It was too dark for us to catch any features that would've been helpful for facial recognition scanning," he said. "But from the picture, we could assume that he's three inches taller than his acquaintance."

I nodded and turned to Toothless. "So what do you need me to do? Infiltrate? Sneak in and see what's going on in the shadows?" I asked. Toothless had long since switched the screen off and was now facing the desk. He appeared deep in thought.

"You know what," he began, "that's _exactly_ what I need you to do. But you can't go alone."

I mean, I'd figured that.

"Seeing as how Jack and Merida have never gone to Berk before, they'll easily be taken as tourists. We'll have Rapunzel make some sort of disguise that will prevent the Berkians from recognizing you. You three will take Stormfly and her squad's place in the town and observe Jürgen. Try to infiltrate that apartment and see just what in the hell is going on inside. Is that clear?"

I straightened up and nodded, my face showing all seriousness I had. Toothless returned the nod. "Good," he said. "You have until first light to get ready."

Well then, I guess now I just had to tell the rest...

Night Fury squad, I hope you're as ready as I am...

* * *

 **A/n: Well, here you guys go! It's a bit shorter than the previous chapter. I tried to make it quick so that you all wouldn't have had to wait long. I hope this chapter was still good!**

 **Anyway, if there are any spelling mistakes or whatnot, please feel free to calmly mention them in the comments.**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **\- Azriel**


	5. Mission: Infiltration

**A/n: HEYA! Sorry for this unannounced hiatus. Blame school! Not me!**

 **For real, so much homework and projects in the past four months... I either had no time to write, or was too tired that I fell asleep.**

 **I'm sowwy ;-; Pwease fowgive me?**

 **Sadly, expect that this is not the last time it will happen...**

 **Also, it's my birthday! (October 8th. Birthweek technically) and now I'm 15. Wow... I'm gonna need a while to get used to writing that number wherever it's needed.**

 ***clears throat* Anyway...I won't keep the long AN. Please just allow me to say that I've updated this story's summary (mostly cuz the plot so far isn't even following that ahehehe XD so I changed it) SO YEAH! Just enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything here except the plot.**

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

"And, you're all set," Rapunzel said, stepping back to allow me to face the mirror.

It was currently 5:30 in the morning. Rapunzel had spent all night coming up with this disguise to make sure I was both secure and hidden from Berk's eyes. The sun was just about to rise

I was wearing some heavy armor underneath a black suit and tie. (for emergencies. Say I get caught and need some shielding. It also helped me look bulkier than I normally was, which would help the Berkians to not recognize me). The white polo underneath had golden cufflinks discretely holding the Dragon Nest's insignia.

My hair was combed to the right and styled in an undercut, slicked with some hair gel to keep it in place and not return to its shaggy state. I also had a pair of black, metallic, thick-framed glasses.

In truth, the cufflinks, the glasses, and even the silver Rolex watch on my wrist were all custom-made by Hiro to help with the mission.

The cufflinks were designed to be a comm link for me to be able to reach the Nest. The glasses provided me with a discrete navigation window or window of information so I wouldn't look suspicious when walking or reading a file. Finally, the Rolex wasn't a Rolex watch at all, but rather just designed to look like that. In reality, the watch was a mini weapon. It could fire a miniature tranquilizer dart, tase someone, or pop up a screen that would tell me where my suspected target stood (assuming I've already managed to successfully tag them).

I looked like a Kingsman...

And yes, I know what a Kingsman is. I've seen the movie. I'm very sure a lot of Berkians have as well. But here's the catch: they don't think people like the Kingsmen exist. Well, I guess now, I can prove them wrong.

I'll be visiting Berk as a businessman looking for contacts to "work for the business". In a way, I suppose I'd be doing just that.

I heard footsteps approaching behind Punzie and I and turned to face Jack and Merida, both wearing their winter-casual tourist outfits over their own set of heavy armor. "Dude..." Jack droned. "My, tha's a dashin' look now is i'?" Merida grinned, snickering. I chuckled back and shrugged. "How do I look?" I asked. Jack tilted his head and laughed. "Man, you look _way_ too boring to be my friend," he said.

Oh he's so gonna get it when we're done with this...

I rolled my eyes amusedly before nodding a thank you to Rapunzel, grabbing a heavy overcoat for the cold, and turning back to the two. "So, are we ready to go?"

They nodded to me as we all walked out of the room.

* * *

 **Astrid's POV (Bet you didn't expect that eh?)**

I don't know what's up with Henry, but it's been over a month. He just disappeared.

I mean...I shouldn't be caring about why he isn't here. In fact, I should be happy, shouldn't I? No more useless fishbone walking down the halls of the school. No more throwing any pity parties every single time he gets beaten to a pulp. No more having to jump in and save his sorry ass when Snotlout takes it too far.

So then...why do I feel so...sad, so...empty, because he isn't here?

 _RRIIIIIIIIINNNGGGGG_

The sound of the lunch bell snapped me from my thoughts. I blinked my eyes back into focus and picked my things up off the ground, slinging my bag onto my shoulder and standing up. I was just about to walk out of the Chemistry room when Snotlout (Oh dear Odin above...) stepped towards me, blocking my one way of escape. "So, babe," he began, and I cringed. Ugh, can this guy not take a hint? "So...I've moved into my parents' basement."

 _'Oh sure, real 'cool' of you...'_ I thought.

"And I was thinking...you know...you should come by sometime to work out. I mean, you look like you work out." He finished with a sly grin that made me almost puke inside my own mouth.

Oh, wait, no, there it is...

I shuddered as I had to force myself to choke it back down, before turning back to glare at Snotlout. "No," I said, plain as that. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch to get to," I said, before I shoved him out of my way and headed over to the school's cafe.

I sighed in relief as I finally managed to escape that horrid guy's attempts at flirting. It's guys like him that make me actually _miss_ Henry.

I really wonder where he is...

I shake my head and shrug the thought off. I can't possibly be worried about him, can I? Why was I so...open to him the day before he disappeared...? Why was it so easy to talk to him? Why did it feel good to talk to him? And why did I get this feeling in my chest when I saw him that day, wearing that waiter uniform of his?

I mean, sure, it was very cute, but...

 _'Ack, Astrid, get it together!'_ I mentally yelled, mentally slapping myself upside the head.

When I arrived at the cafe, I noticed that my friend Ruffnut Thorston was already sitting at our usual table, along with her twin brother Tuffnut and his friend Fishlegs Ingerman. Ruffnut's real name was Rianne, Tuffnut's was TJ, and Fishlegs' was Frank. Don't ask why they're called by these names instead, because they'll tell you every single detail about it. Trust me, you wouldn't want that.

Ruffnut is a...well, I suppose you could say balanced person. She has a large wild fun side to her. And don't be fooled, because she's smarter than she looks.

Although I sometimes doubt that myself...

Tuffnut is the same case as his sister. Well, double the wild fun side and lessen the intelligence. That part of him is a rare occurrence.

Fishlegs is almost all intelligence and rather little fun. He tends to take a lot of things seriously, even if they're obviously meant to be jokes.

"Hey, Astrid," Ruffnut greeted when she turned to face me, and I waved back. I thank Thor that she and Fishlegs dislike Snotlout just as much as I do. Tuffnut, on the other hand, is just a smidge too dumb to understand why.

"Odin, only two more hours left after this," she said with a sigh, right as I sat down. I gave a small smile and a nod. Tuffnut cheered a "yeah" while Fishlegs pouted. "Aww, but I like school!"

Well all stared at him.

"... But yeah, I think we need a little break," he added.

I just chuckled to myself as we had our 40-minute lunch break, but then a certain someone had popped into my mind once more...

* * *

 _ **2 1/2 hours later...**_

I was on my way home from school, with my bag slung on my shoulder and my hands in my pockets. My thick fur coat was still not enough to shield my hands from the winter's harsh colds, and even though I was already wearing a pair of thick gloves, I still couldn't protect my fingers from practically getting frostbitten.

I passed by a familiar park.

The one where my brother had died...

I felt a chill go up my spine, this one ten times colder than the winter air. It's like I can visualize what happened: the bus full of people ramming into my brother running across the street, the sickening smack of his body against the vehicle's front, the lifeless form of my brother on the ground as a younger Henry slumped over him, the crowd from within the bus surrounding him, staring at him... Just...seeing him lose the light in his eyes.

I can almost see the paramedics lifting him onto the gurney, bringing him inside the ambulance, placing an oxygen mask over his face. I can almost see them grabbing the defibrillators from the side of the ambulance to try and restart his heart.

I could almost hear the sirens...

I rapidly faced away from the park and towards the ground, as if it was actually happening and I was actually witnessing it. Against the cold air blowing against my face, I felt a warm tear sliding down my cheek. My breathing became rough and ragged as I remembered. I shook my head, just to try to get that memory out of my mind, but I just...couldn't...

A sob tore through me. I couldn't let it get to me again, after so many years...

I took a deep breath and just turned my attention back to the street that led to my house.

I passed by a Starbucks café and saw a not-so bulky man sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He was wearing a thick overcoat over his suit and tie. He had black, metallic, thick-framed glasses, and his rather auburn hair in an undercut. It suited him.

I felt like I knew this man...

He looked up at me and we locked eyes. Those eyes...piercing emerald eyes... They seemed so familiar... Where have I see those eyes before?

I darted my eyes away and continued walking. He seemed so familiar... There's only one person I've seen with those eyes, but I can't remember which person it was... The Thorstons have blue eyes. Fishlegs has blue eyes as well, and Snotlout has brown eyes. But there are still a lot more people that I know who have green eyes.

But these eyes...they just...struck me...

Could it be...

No, it can't be him... He disappeared, didn't he? Not a single trace of him left on Berk.

But...why do those eyes just feel so... _familiar_...

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

 _"Hiccup, what's up? We can see you staring at someone from in here,"_ Jack told me through the comm link _. "Is it someone we're looking for?"_ I blinked my eyes into focus once more and faced them inside the café, then back at the laptop that sat on the table in front of me.

Did I really just see Astrid Hofferson walking down the sidewalk past me...? Wow... It's only been over a month, but...she looks so different. I mean, it could be her outfit that makes her look different, because it wasn't this cold a month ago. And the way she styled her hair... That was new. It's like a smaller braid running across the top of her head and continuing towards her larger braid and thrown over her shoulder. It...really suited her.

I brought both of my gloved hands up in front of my face and rubbed them together, to make it seem as if I was warming them, when in fact I was signaling Jack and Merida inside that it was nobody they should be concerned about.

Because I don't know how _I_ want to feel about her...

When she was gone, I went back to work, typing in various codes into the Dragon Nest's primary archives. Thanks to the glasses, only I could see what I had to look for. To passerbys, it just looked as if I was typing a document for work.

It showed a layout of the the area within a three-mile radius. There were many alleyways here, but I'm trying to find the one that's been used multiple times. That'd give me a clue.

I scanned through each and every alley, using a thermo scanner to see if there are any spots warmer than the rest of the ground. And if so, that'd tell me that that alley was what we were looking for.

It wasn't until my fourth alleyway did I see the thermo scanner start scanning the different temperatures of the ground. By the temperatures that appeared - the ground and walls at -33°C and a few points on the ground at a rather higher temperature of -7°C - I was able to determine that people had walked through this alleyway not more than fifteen minutes ago.

I zoomed out and scanned the surrounding buildings, to check for any heat signatures inside. One building, at the very end of the alleyway to the right, picked up seven heat signatures, four of which were huddled around a small table, and the other three providing security to three different entry points.

You could tell they were armed; their rifles bearing a green heat signature. The supposed-to-be abandoned building was fortified by walls of sandbags that covered weak areas of the walls.

I analyzed the entire building and found one entrance which they had apparently completely overlooked. It was on the far end, opposite the side we were currently on. We'd have to go around the block to get there.

I shut the laptop and stuffed it back into the side bag I had for it. I adjusted my glasses, and that sent a signal towards Jack and Merida's watches, telling them we were prepped to go.

I stood up from the outdoor chair I was sat in and awaited a few seconds, before I heard the café's chimes ring. Turning my head, I spotted Jack and Merida walk out and towards me. I gave them a single nod, and off we went, down the opposite direction Astrid had come from; it was quicker that way.

* * *

A few minutes later, we found ourselves standing right outside the hideout. I used the glasses to scan the side of the wall, and found that an area of bricks all clustered together were not 100% in place. There was a loose brick that could simply be removed, and the rest would easily follow. If so, the hole would just be big enough for us to fit through.

We need to be careful. Thank Thor this side of the town is asleep; elder Berkians tend to have a little three-hour hibernation by this time every winter season.

I nodded and pointed at the area of the wall, to which Jack and Merida complied, pulling out a mute charge. This would prevent the hostiles inside from hearing the bricks should they collapse while we're working.

They set the charge on the sturdy portion of the wall, before setting it off. A slight shockwave indicated that it had been activated.

The mute charge would last for a minute. As soon as it set off, all three of us pulled out our pistols, surpressors attached to the ends. As soon as we were all armed, I kicked the loose brick wall down, and we all crawled inside.

The glasses made a small beeping noise only I could hear, indicating that a hostile was patrolling this way. I quickly gestured for Jack and Merida to take cover, and that we'd take him out once he was close enough.

I took cover inside a small, dark storage room, filled with cardboard boxes, mostly containing what the building used to hold. Merida took cover behind a large concrete pillar, and Jack had managed to climb up and onto the air vents, hiding in the shadows.

The hostile had stopped, from what I could see in the glasses' x-ray scanner. He'd seen the large hole in the side of the wall, and was busy investigating it. He knew it wasn't there before.

I caught Jack's gaze up on the air vents and he nodded at me. I pulled out a dagger and carefully crept up behind him.

I took a deep, silent breath. This would be my first time to kill someone... Jack and Merida had already done so; they'd been apart of the Nest longer than I have.

I don't know if I can do this...

But I'm a soldier now. I have to.

Slowly, I brought my hand up to the side of his face, then quickly clamped it over his nose and mouth, preventing him from screaming as I plunged the dagger in through his back, in the side where his heart was located. I held him still as his final struggles started to die down, and his muffled screaming came to a stop.

I pulled the knife out and wiped it on his shirt, then sheathed it before dragging his body into the storage room where I hid earlier.

Who knew spending hours on the console a day every weekend just playing Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty would help me know what to do and how to do it?

Uh...I'm not the only one who does that, right?

As soon as the body was safely hidden in the darkest part of the storage room, Jack and Merida had come out of their hiding spots, as I walked out. "Not bad," Jack commented, "but it lacked some... _pizazz_."

I rolled my eyes as Merida made a slight snort. "'Pizazz'? Really?" I asked, chuckling slightly. Jack responded with a mere shrug, and I rolled my eyes some more.

After that, we began slowly and silently creeping through the rundown abandoned apartment, checking each corner for any hostiles that would pop out. One hostile had almost seen me, but thankfully, Merida had shot the guy right between his eyes with the surpressed pistol right as he was about to check.

Yeah, still a good idea to _not_ get on her bad side.

I nodded as a thank you towards her as we continued on investigating the area. I was the most techy in our little trio as of the moment, so once we got to a good and secure vantage point to observe what was going in, Jack and Merida took watch while I got to work with the facial recognition scanning on the glasses and audio and video recording of the meeting.

"... Yes but when would it get here?" The enhanced microphone on the frame of the glasses allowed me to hear exactly what they were saying through the speaker that was attached to the arms of the glasses. **(Lol somebody correct me on what those are called XD)**

"I' bette' be soon," another answered, his Scottish accent sounding very thick compared to the first one. "Oth'wise 'e'd 'ave our 'eads."

The third one, from what I could see, was sitting down down and looking over a bunch of documents. He seemed focused, while his colleague, the fourth one, sat lazily on a wooden chair, his feet propped up on the table and the two front legs of his chair tipped upwards, allowing him to lean back and nap.

"Oi, you two," the one who was reading the documents said, catching the attention of the two conversing hostiles. "Quit your worrying. Once we get this to him, we'll be paid enough to last us the rest of our lives. If that doesn't satisfy you then I don't know what will."

"Simple," the one with the thick Scottish accent replied. "A big 'ouse, pr'vate je's, an' all th' gol' bricks I'd ge'."

The third one shook his head and went back to reading the documents. It wasn't until I heard the frames of the glasses make the all too familiar beeping sound, did I notice that the fourth guy was gone, as well as the two keeping watch.

I stopped recording and slowly turned to look behind me. There was the end of a pistol aimed directly at my face, with the previously napping fourth person wielding the weapon. The two who were previously keeping watch were aiming their rifles at Jack and Merida each, both holding their arms up in surrender, expressions of annoyance and anger on their faces.

I slowly stood up, the man following my movements with the pistol. Unbeknownst to him, the glasses were still on facial recognition scanning mode, so I took advantage of this time to identify who he and the other two were.

"Well, well," he mocked. "What do we 'ave 'ere..."

His voice was rather rough. He was bald and had a mustache and small goatee on his face. The glasses pulled up a file, and according to the details, the man before me was known as...

Ryker Grimborn?

* * *

 **A/n: DUDUDUNNN! Left y'all on a little cliffy.**

 **Oh no, what's gonna happen!? Only I know ;)**

 **Stay tuned for the next chap (I'll try to hurry it up this time)**

 **-Azriel**


	6. Who's Vorg?

**A/n: Haha, earlier than the usual 4-6 month update? Yep!**

 **Felt bad that I left you guys on a cliffy, so I'm gonna continue it!**

 **Consider it a (sorta late) Christmas gift**

 **Also, the title? Yeah, it isn't Captain Vorg the Berserker, ayt? It's a different Vorg :3**

 _ ***note: in case y'all didn't know, when I type in dialogue and words have apostrophe (') in place of letters, take note, I try to write with accent included XD**_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or any other Fandom used in the making of this fanfic, just this fanfic in itself.**

* * *

 **Hiccup's POV**

We were led down to what looked like used to be the building's reception counter, now a dull, faded gray color, cracks littering the bottom half of it. There were three chairs set out for us in front of the counter, the backs connected to form a triangle.

Ryker pushed me towards one of the chairs, and I stumbled. My hands were bound behind my back, and they'd stripped us of our weapons. The other two guys jerked both Jack and Merida towards the other two chairs. They forced us to sit down as they secured our hands to the spines of the chairs. One of them aimed his rifle at us, so we had no choice but to comply with them unless we wanted our heads blown off.

"So, what's it you do here?" I asked. I know, it's dumb, but they think they're gonna kill me anyway once they tell me, so might as well get the info beforehand.

Ryker gave a dark chuckle and turned to face me. "Why in the worl' woul' I tell ya?" He rolled his eyes. "You can' even stop me from the'e."

He was wrong about that. I've trained for this kind of situation, I just had to get what I needed before we could execute it.

"And who's the one still sitting at the table?" I inquired. Ryker glared at me. "His name's no' importan'. Now why the 'ell you still talking aye?"

Of course, me being my usual Hiccup-y self, I used my stubbornness to irritate him to force him to leave. "No reason," I answered, shrugging, or at least attempting to shrug when I had both hands bound behind my back, against a chair. "It entertains me."

"So will you stop now?"

"Nope. I have a lot more questions to ask."

I could see Jack making a small smirk out of the corner of my eye; he knew just what I was doing. Merida, meanwhile, was just glaring at all of them, mostly at Ryker.

Ryker growled. "I don' 'ave time for this," he hissed, spinning around and grabbing one of the men by his shoulder. "You, stay 'ere an' keep an eye on 'em. If ya see 'em tryin' to do somethin' funny, show no mercy," he said.

The man nodded in response and raised his gun, just as Ryker walked away. He watched us, his unnerving, somehow unblinking eyes never leaving ours.

"Do you know how to blink? Jeez, seriously, it's disturbing!" I told him. It was both as a distraction and because he really hasn't blinked in the five minutes we've been here, and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

He remained silent though, and only glared at me. I could faintly see the corners of his eyes turning red, meaning they were burning from staying open for too long.

Glad to know he knows how to blink...

I scanned the area. There were chains hanging on the ceiling, and a large steel shelf was on the side of the room, boxes stacked on each shelf. Behind the man in front of me, was a little ammo cache.

I decided to play more of the tricks up my sleeve. "Hey, so...I suppose now isn't a very good time to ask, but...where's the bathroom?"

Both Jack and Merida groaned. "Gods, Hic, really?" Jack said, while Merida said, "Wha' in th' 'ell. Are ya daft?"

The guy in front of us rolled his eyes. "Yer not goin' to the fuckin' bathroom 'ere, boy," he said. "Don' think I don' know wha' yer tryin'."

Okay, so he's smarter than he looks apparently.

"What's your name?" I tried, tilting my head. He squinted his eyes at me suspiciously, and I continued, "Hey, if you know what I'm up to, why would I try anything? I just wanna know your name."

He sighed, closing his eyes, before opening them back up and looking directly at me out of the three of us. "Name's Vorg. Now woul' ya shut up?"

This time I squinted, at the same time tilting my head. "'Vorg'? That name sounds...familiar..." I said. I swear I could recall the name 'Vorg' from when I was younger; those names aren't very common. I don't remember when, but...I could.

I recalled one memory, but it was very vague now. It was in the town park.

* * *

 _ **Flashback; 12 years ago**_

 _I was around six back then, and my dad took me there for our usual stroll. I wanted to get ice cream, and my dad gave me money to buy some while he sat at a picnic table to watch me._

 _Back then, he wasn't mayor yet, and we did everything together..._

 _I'd bought the ice cream and began walking back, stopping every now and then to let skaters and bicyclers pass before continuing, when my foot snagged on a small root from a nearby tree, and I tripped, falling to the ground and dropping the ice cream. I saw my dad grip the table as he pushed himself up to walk the rather far distance over to me._

 _A skateboarder rolled by and stopped beside me, kneeling down to help me up. "Aye lad." He had a Scottish accent like my dad's, though not quite as thick, and looked around 17 years of age. "Ya alrigh'?" he asked, lifting me up by my arm. I nodded, looking at him, then at the ice cream I'd dropped on the ground._

 _Sad. It was Cookies &Cream too._

 _He clicked his tongue at the spilled ice cream. "Aw, tha's a shame. Tell ya what, 'ow 'bout I buy ya a new one?" His smile was genuine, despite the fact that he looked rugged with a long scar at the side of his face._

 _He noticed me staring at it, chuckled, and said, "Ah, that? I fell down an' scraped up ma' face when I wen' skateboardin' once. Bu' le' me tell ya somethin': If ya get knocke' down, whethe' by bullies or misfortune, it hur's mo'e when ya don' ge' up."_

 _He pat my arm and stood up, before walking over to the ice cream stand and getting me the same Cookies &Cream._

 _My dad came up while the guy was at the stand. "Oh boy-o, are ya alrigh'?" he asked. I nodded, and my dad looked up as the guy came back, a brand new cone of ice cream in hand._

 _"Aye, wha's yer name, son?" Dad asked. The guy bent down to hand me the ice cream, before standing to face my dad. Now that I could see better, he was around two feet shorter than my dad._

 _Made sense. My dad is a beast in size. Don't tell him I said that._

 _"Name's Vorg, sir," the guy, Vorg, replied. "Hope yer son's fine. Now I need ta go, 'fore me mum comes out yellin' at me." He shook my dad's hand, bent down and ruffled my hair, all the while I was just eating the ice cream._

 _"'ere's hopin' I see ya again, eh?" He smiled, and I nodded._

 _He got onto his skateboard, gave a curt salute, and rolled off._

 _He never got our names, and we never heard from him since._

* * *

I looked at the side of his face, and there indeed was a long scar running down. He still had that familiar rugged look.

Of course... If he never got our names back then, then he wouldn't know that Mayor Stoick Haddock was my dad, and the man he shook hands with twelve years ago.

I wonder if quoting what he said twelve years ago would affect him... I decided to give it a try.

"If you get knocked down," I began in a low voice, and I could pretty much feel both Jack and Merida giving me strange looks, but I ignored, only looking at Vorg.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, and I took it as my cue to continue, "Whether by bullies or misfortune." I saw his eyes widen ever so slightly, before he narrowed them again. It was affecting him.

"It hurts more when you don't get up."

He stepped back, shocked. "Where...did you 'ear tha'?"

I stared him straight in the eyes, and said, "From a seventeen-year old skateboarder, twelve years ago, in the Town of Berk's family park."

He stumbled, dropping his gun in the process, and Merida took it as her chance to snap the ropes she'd spent the entire time weakening, running up to him and putting him in a chokehold, clamping a hand over his mouth to keep him from yelling for backup.

Jack slid his fingers free of his ropes; Merida had slightly weakened them for him. He moved the chair out of the way and began untying the knot on mine. Once I was free, I stood up and walked towards Vorg. He was really beginning to choke, his troubled wheezing and slightly red face was proof of that.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Let him go, Mer," I said, and she gave me a stunned look. "Are ya crazy?" she hissed. "If I do tha' who's ta say 'e ain't gonna turn us back in?"

I shook my head. "He won't," I said, just looking at him. "Just let him go."

She did so, slowly and reluctantly, all the while giving me her glare that could usually make other people run away.

Jack and I are used to that.

Vorg crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. We could hear somebody coming up, and Jack quickly picked up the gun which was, thankfully, surpressed.

"Oi, Vorg! Boss sen' me tah check on the 'ostag's."

He handed the weapon to Merida, who spun around and fired two bullets into the man's skull. Jack and I ran towards him to keep him from making any noise as he started to drop to the ground.

"Oi, wha's goin' on in the'e!?" That sounded like Ryker.

Jack nodded at me; I was in charge of voice impersonations after all.

I recalled what this dead man said before he was killed, and matched my voice to it. "Nothin' Sir! Ever'thin's fine!" I shouted.

I heard a grunt in response, then silence.

 _He's not so bright is he..._ I chuckled, before standing up to go back over to Vorg. "You never got my name back then," I told him, before kneeling down. "Nor my dad's, which might help explain why you're doing this."

I sighed and said, "They're targeting the mayor, and...that just happens to be my dad..."

Vorg widened his eyes and started stuttering. "I-I-I didn' know. Th-they... They jus' sai'...tha' if I 'elped, they'd pay me, an' I neede' the money. I didn' know who they were targetin', I swear. The financ'l crisis go' to me."

I nodded. "I know your name. Vorg. You never got mine. I'm Henry "Hiccup" Haddock. My dad? Stoick "the Vast" Haddock."

Merida stepped in, hissing in a whisper-yelling voice, "'iccup! Are ye sure ye shoul' be tellin' this man yer name and yer ol' man's!?"

I nodded in response. "I know this man," I said quietly enough not to be heard by the enemy, but loud enough for both her and Jack. "He helped me get back up twelve years ago. Remember what I said earlier? This man told me that that day."

"You mean, the whole 'it hurts when you get up' thing or whatever it was?" Jack asked. I corrected him, "'It hurts _more_ when you _don't_ get up.' And yes, that. Honestly, if it hadn't been for that, I'd have given up a long time ago.

"He's got that same good in him," I continued, "and the only problem is that he was misguided. He didn't know what he was getting into.

"I don't blame him. If, whoever is the mastermind of this entire thing is, can twist others' minds to do the wrong thing, then I won't even be surprised if that Ryker is actually a good person as well," I finished.

I slowly pushed myself up and held a hand out to Vorg, who took it and pulled himself up, dusting his clothes off.

"Listen, Vorg," I said, "I know you've got that good in you. And if we escape and Ryker manages to find out, he'll take it out on you, and who knows what he'll do then. Wouldn't it be better if you came with us instead?"

He seemed deep in thought. "I...don'... Wait..." A slight grin creeped onto his face, and he furrowed his eyebrows. "I coul' be yer man on the insi'e. Let 'im fin' out ya three go' out; I ain't 'fraid o' tha' man."

I... Well, admittedly, it wasn't a bad idea at all. But...I felt uneasy about letting him on his own with Ryker. That guy looks rough and unforgiving, and if he were to punish Vorg for our 'escape', then I wouldn't know how bad it would be.

"Look," I heard Vorg say. "I c'n come u' wi'h a li''le show fer if Ryker came 'ere 'imself. Bu' you three need ta go. Now."

He pushed us towards the back of the room, where it was shadowed and secluded. Jack and Merida began looking for a way out, feeling the walls for a door or loose brick like earlier. But I stayed behind, in the shadows, to watch what would unfold.

Jack found the door and whisper-yelled my name, making me turn to him. He gestured me over - which I could only barely see in this darkness. I was just about to go, but then I looked back one more time, to find Vorg aiming his surpressed rifle at his leg, biting his wrist that was covered by the sleeve of his jacket.

I widened my eyes when I realized what he was doing, and before I could grab his attention again, he pulled the trigger and fired the shot into his leg.

I stiffened, just staring as I heard the muffled screams coming from him and his slow collapse to the ground. Merida had to yank me away and out through the door Jack had managed to open.

When we were all out, Jack shut the door again, as quickly yet quietly as he could, then secured it with a chain littered on the ground a few feet away.

I immediately clicked on the button on my earpiece. "Toothless, hey, we got out," I said, once I heard the other end open up.

"'Got out'?" I heard him ask as we started sneaking off, away from the surrounding area of the building. "You guys were caught?"

"Yes, but..."

"You're all alright? No one injured?" he asked. "None, sir," I replied.

"Good," I heard him say with with sigh. "Now what were you trying to tell me?"

I squeezed my eyes shut as the image of Vorg injuring himself appeared in my mind again. "Yes, sir, uh... We found a man on the inside. Vorg's his name. Man from my childhood. Listen, he's-."

I got cut off. "Who's Vorg?" Toothless asked. I sighed and replied, "Well, you see, Toothless..."

I looked back at the building that was now far behind us.

"It's a long story."

* * *

 **A/n: So I hope you enjoyed that chapter!**

 **I love the quote I made actually (Or if it isn't and I somehow coincidentally typed the quote of someone else, tell me)**

 **I just love it.**

 _ **"If you get knocked down, whether by bullies or misfortune, it hurts more when you don't get up."**_

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter! And yes, I will be using that quote a lot more.**

 **~ Astor (Yes I switched my name from 'Azriel' to 'Astor')**


	7. Dark Hair, Green Eyes

**A/n: Hey all! I'm so sorry this took me so long to update, but** **to be honest, I've** **just** **had a very hard time writing anything in a while. I apologize, it's** **just that when I** **feel like writing, I** **lose the ideas midway and I** **have to find them again, or I** **lose the motivation to write as I** **read through.**

 **Forgive me, it's** **just been difficult.**

 **Anyway,** **if you've** **still stuck around, I** **hope you** **still enjoy.**

 _ **(Also just wanted y'all to know I**_ _**rewrote chapter 1 juuuust a little bit. If you read it before but choose to read it again you just might notice the differences)**_

* * *

 _ **The next day...**_

 **Astrid's POV**

"Astrid?" Ruffnut asked.

I blinked in surprise, snapping out of my mostly thoughtless daze before turning to her. "Wh-what?"

She sighed, saying, "You've been kinda distracted all morning. Something on your mind? Is it a boy? Are you thinking of a boy? Who're you thinking of? Oh, gross, is it Snotlout?" She spoke so fast, I _almost_ didn't hear a word she said. But I was able to catch on fair enough.

I gagged. "Heck no! Ruff, that's a nightmare..." I shuddered at the thought. "But yes, I am sorta distracted," I told her truthfully.

She widened her eyes. "Come on, 'Strid," she groaned. "I wanna knooooowww..."

I shook my head, a small grin on my face, before walking away. She chased me the entire time, dragging herself on my arm and asking me over and over again to tell her.

' _She's hopeless',_ I thought to myself, laughing.

* * *

 _ **Two hours later...**_

We were at the second to the last class of the day, which was gym. I both really enjoyed and despised this class. Why? Well, for one, I enjoy it because, well, it's gym. Why wouldn't I enjoy it?

But I despise it because a certain _someone_ keeps on getting the nerve to check me out, despite knowing the fact that I could easily take him down with my pinky.

There was even an instance where he followed me to the girls' changing room. I had to slam the door into his face and send him flying back before he stopped. He still stood out there the entire time and when I'd gotten out, he continued following me.

It's guys like him that make me realize how much I hate the idea of getting a boyfriend. But then I tell myself that there are definitely guys out there who are nothing like him. Like Henry, for example, he-

I froze. Henry? Why did I think of him as an example of all people?

Come to think of it, he was on my mind a lot in the past five weeks. He'd just pop up and settle in my head for hours. I don't know why. It's like he'd be staring at me with either a smug smirk, or a betrayed snarl. And honestly, I'm not sure which one I'd prefer seeing him give me in person, if he even came back in the first place.

It was...terrifying... I didn't know why I was thinking of him. I didn't know what caused my mind to just be filled with thoughts of _him._ I didn't know, and it freaked me out so much.

"Alright, get up on your feet and to the starting line!" the coach yelled, startling half the class.

Well, that's my cue. I always dominated the track, and...pretty much everything in gym. Huh. I shouldn't even worry about failing this class but for some reason I do sometimes.

Oh well snap out of it Astrid. Get to position.

Our coach was a sub today. As a matter of fact, he's been subbing all week. Makes me wonder...where did Coach Bunny go?

Coach Bunnymund, or "Bunny" as I call him, has been my gym coach for the last three years. He's never missed a single meeting. Even when a close friend of his had died, he showed up to work. He was shaky and his quiet cries could be heard, but he showed up because he knew he had to.

So what on earth could have made him miss an entire week?

I didn't even know this sub's name.

We did the usual routine. Some stretches, a couple laps around the track, then the core exercises. Gym was pretty much free period as long as you did something physical anyway.

The sub came up to me while I was halfway through my sit-ups. "Hofferson, right?" he asked. "Astrid Hofferson?"

Not wanting to be rude, I stopped my sit-ups for a while and stood up to talk. Nodding in response, I took a deep breath and let it back out.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about sir?" I asked. He pursed his lips and shrugged. "Nah, it's all good. I was just checking. In the past week I just noticed how great of an athlete you were, so I just wanted to get a good student's name right."

Well I was used to being complimented on my performance by Coach Bunny, so it's really not that much different with the sub. I nodded, a small smile on my face. "Thank you," I told him. He returned the nod and I went back to my routine.

* * *

 _ **Somewhere...**_

 _"She's curious but fortunately unaware, sir,"_ the low voice spoke through the earpieces worn and heard only by two men; one sat on his seat, hands poised in front of him as if he were deep in thought, and the other one looking over dossiers. _"I can possibly lure her with a fake invitation to an athletic competition. She's really into it. It'll be eas-"_

"No, that'll be fine. Let her be. She'll know when it's time," said the one sitting. The other man stood up straighter, huffing out a sigh and turning on his heel to walk out the door. "Let me know if anything happens to her, please sir," was all he said, before the door shut behind him.

He sighed, mumbling the words to himself, "Sure thing, H."

* * *

 _ **After school...**_

And that marked the end of the week!

"See you later, 'Strid!" Ruff called, and I glanced as she dragged her brother off, most likely off on another pranking spree to honour Loki again.

I shook my head in amusement. Classic Thorstons.

I finished putting the books I didn't need back in my locker. It was as orderly as can be inside; books stacked neatly against one wall of the locker, packet of gums and mints in a pouch I'd attached to the other wall, mirror stuck to the back of the locker so I could make sure I still looked presentable for class, a small shelf above said mirror where I kept the art supplies for Arts & Media class - well, basically, my locker was a typical locker.

But I _did_ see one thing I remember that wasn't there before...

I picked it up. It was a folded blue piece of paper, with my name handwritten on the front.

 _"Astrid ~"_

I furrowed my eyebrows and opened it up.

 _"Hey there, remember me? Dark hair, green eyes, friend since kindergarten?"_

Dark hair and green eyes? Could it be...Hiccup Haddock?

 _"It's me, Heather!"_

I widened my eyes. And, I have no idea why, but...I felt my heart sink when I saw that it wasn't him. Don't get me wrong, I love Heather like a sister! But...why did I feel this way when it came to him?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts of him and continued reading.

 _"Such a cliche, am I right? Ugh, like, I mean this isn't even my role! It's supposed to be some guy writing you a letter telling you how you're the most important person in their life and how much he adores you, etcetera etcetera, blah blah blah, all that junk..._

 _"But anyway, guess who's back in Berk! I arrived a few days ago. Family finally decided it was time to return after spending two years in Berserk City. You wouldn't have liked it. Way too trafficky and crowded with people. Pretty sure you're still the antisocial tough "I don't need more than two friends" girl I know, huh?_

 _"I'm coming back to school here in two days, but I managed to sneak in and put this in your locker without being caught, so, hah! And you said I was a terrible ninja!_

 _"And the only reason I didn't just text you was because hey, I had absolutely no idea if you changed your phone number in the time I was gone, and I wanted to spare myself the embarrassment of sending the long ass somewhat heartwarming message to a wrong number._

 _"This was heartwarming right?"_

I laughed. Heather was a very eccentric person. I mean, still nowhere near as eccentric as Ruff when it came to pranking and beating people up, but eccentric nonetheless.

 _"Anyway, totally miss you, coming to see you so watch out! I could jump at any time._

 _"Love, the prettier-with-dark-hair-but-slightly-weaker-than-you-in-gym girl,_

 _"Heather~"_

She had some humour, I'll give her that.

Wow... I hadn't seen Heather since she had to move to Berserk. I mean, we Skyped a few times, but both of us got so busy at one point that it became harder to stay in contact all the time.

Didn't realise how much I missed her until now.

I couldn't wait until two days' time!


End file.
